2,966 research outputs found
Differential contribution of PB1-F2 to the virulence of highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza A virus in mammalian and avian species
Highly pathogenic avian influenza A viruses (HPAIV) of the H5N1 subtype occasionally transmit from birds to humans and can cause severe systemic infections in both hosts. PB1-F2 is an alternative translation product of the viral PB1 segment that was initially characterized as a pro-apoptotic mitochondrial viral pathogenicity factor. A full-length PB1-F2 has been present in all human influenza pandemic virus isolates of the 20(th) century, but appears to be lost evolutionarily over time as the new virus establishes itself and circulates in the human host. In contrast, the open reading frame (ORF) for PB1-F2 is exceptionally well-conserved in avian influenza virus isolates. Here we perform a comparative study to show for the first time that PB1-F2 is a pathogenicity determinant for HPAIV (A/Viet Nam/1203/2004, VN1203 (H5N1)) in both mammals and birds. In a mammalian host, the rare N66S polymorphism in PB1-F2 that was previously described to be associated with high lethality of the 1918 influenza A virus showed increased replication and virulence of a recombinant VN1203 H5N1 virus, while deletion of the entire PB1-F2 ORF had negligible effects. Interestingly, the N66S substituted virus efficiently invades the CNS and replicates in the brain of Mx+/+ mice. In ducks deletion of PB1-F2 clearly resulted in delayed onset of clinical symptoms and systemic spreading of virus, while variations at position 66 played only a minor role in pathogenesis. These data implicate PB1-F2 as an important pathogenicity factor in ducks independent of sequence variations at position 66. Our data could explain why PB1-F2 is conserved in avian influenza virus isolates and only impacts pathogenicity in mammals when containing certain amino acid motifs such as the rare N66S polymorphism
Apollo asteroids (1566) Icarus and 2007 MK6: Icarus family members?
Although it is more complicated to search for near-Earth object (NEO)
families than main belt asteroid (MBA) families, since differential orbital
evolution within a NEO family can cause current orbital elements to drastically
differ from each other, we have found that Apollo asteroids (1566) Icarus and
the newly discovered 2007 MK6 are almost certainly related. Specifically, their
orbital evolutions show a similar profile, time shifted by only ~1000 yr, based
on our time-lag theory. The dynamical relationship between Icarus and 2007 MK6
along with a possible dust band, the Taurid-Perseid meteor swarm, implies the
first detection of an asteroidal NEO family, namely the "Icarus asteroid
family".Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, to appear on Astrophysical Journal Letters
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Golden spiral photonic crystal fiber: polarization and dispersion properties
A golden spiral photonic crystal fiber (GS-PCF) design is presented in which air holes are arranged in a spiral pattern governed by the golden ratio, where the design has been inspired by the optimal arrangement of seeds found in nature. The birefringence and polarization properties of this fiber are analyzed using a vectorial finite-element method. The fiber that is investigated shows a large modal birefringence peak value of 0.016 at an operating wavelength of 1.55 μm and exhibits highly tuneable dispersion with multiple zero dispersion wavelengths and also large normal dispersion. The GS-PCF design has identical circular air holes that potentially simplify fabrication. In light of its properties, the GS-PCF could have application as a highly birefringent fiber and in nonlinear optics, and moreover the 2D chiral nature of the pattern could yield exotic properties
Heritable Factors Play a Major Role in Determining Host Responses to \u3ci\u3eWuchereria bancrofti\u3c/i\u3e Infection in an Isolated South Pacific Island Population
Background. It is increasingly recognized that host genetic factors may play an important role in determining the outcome of filarial infections. To test this hypothesis in bancroftian lymphatic filariasis, pedigree data were collected twice during an 18-year period from an isolated Polynesian population living on a Pacific island where lymphatic filariasis is endemic. Methods. Using variance-component analysis, we examined the contribution of shared genetic and environmental effects on host clinical and immune responses to filarial infection, along with potential confounding determinants. Results. Sex was found to have a negligible influence on heritability estimates, but shared-household effects accounted for up to 32% of host variability. After accounting for these shared-household effects, heritability estimates suggested that levels of microfilariae and circulating adult worm antigen, as well as host eosinophil and immunoglobulin G antibody responses to larval and adult worm antigens, were highly heritable (range of heritability estimates, 0.15-0.84). Conclusions. These data provide evidence of a key role for genetic factors in determining the host response to filarial infections in humans and emphasize the complexity of the relationships among the host, parasite, and environment
Regular spatial structures in arrays of Bose-Einstein condensates induced by modulational instability
We show that the phenomenon of modulational instability in arrays of
Bose-Einstein condensates confined to optical lattices gives rise to coherent
spatial structures of localized excitations. These excitations represent thin
disks in 1D, narrow tubes in 2D, and small hollows in 3D arrays, filled in with
condensed atoms of much greater density compared to surrounding array sites.
Aspects of the developed pattern depend on the initial distribution function of
the condensate over the optical lattice, corresponding to particular points of
the Brillouin zone. The long-time behavior of the spatial structures emerging
due to modulational instability is characterized by the periodic recurrence to
the initial low-density state in a finite optical lattice. We propose a simple
way to retain the localized spatial structures with high atomic concentration,
which may be of interest for applications. Theoretical model, based on the
multiple scale expansion, describes the basic features of the phenomenon.
Results of numerical simulations confirm the analytical predictions.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figure
Classical and quantum regimes of two-dimensional turbulence in trapped Bose-Einstein condensates
We investigate two-dimensional turbulence in finite-temperature trapped
Bose-Einstein condensates within damped Gross-Pitaevskii theory. Turbulence is
produced via circular motion of a Gaussian potential barrier stirring the
condensate. We systematically explore a range of stirring parameters and
identify three regimes, characterized by the injection of distinct quantum
vortex structures into the condensate: (A) periodic vortex dipole injection,
(B) irregular injection of a mixture of vortex dipoles and co-rotating vortex
clusters, and (C) continuous injection of oblique solitons that decay into
vortex dipoles. Spectral analysis of the kinetic energy associated with
vortices reveals that regime (B) can intermittently exhibit a Kolmogorov
power law over almost a decade of length or wavenumber () scales.
The kinetic energy spectrum of regime (C) exhibits a clear power law
associated with an inertial range for weak-wave turbulence, and a
power law for high wavenumbers. We thus identify distinct regimes of forcing
for generating either two-dimensional quantum turbulence or classical weak-wave
turbulence that may be realizable experimentally.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures. Minor updates to text and figures 1, 2 and
Referrals for proliferative diabetic retinopathy from two UK diabetic retinopathy screening services: a 10-year analysis of visual outcomes, requirement for vitrectomy, and mortality
\ua9 The Author(s) 2024. Background/objectives: To determine long-term outcomes of patients referred with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) from diabetic eye screening programmes (DESP) to tertiary care centres in the United Kingdom (UK). Methods: Retrospective multicentre study of patients referred from two DESPs in the UK over a 36-month period (2007–9) and followed-up for 10 years. Critical outcomes included severe vision loss (SVL) and the need for vitrectomy. Other outcomes assessed included moderate vision loss (MVL), and patient survival time. Univariate and multiple variable Cox proportional hazards regressions were used to analyse survival outcomes. Results: 212 eyes of 150 patients were referred with a diagnosis of PDR. 109 eyes of 72 patients were confirmed to have active PDR and included in the study. 61% of patients had low-risk PDR, while 39% exhibited high-risk features in at least one eye. Eight (7.3%) eyes developed SVL and 16 (14.7%) MVL during follow up. Vitrectomy was required in 24% (95% CI: 15 to 31%) of all PDR eyes and was most commonly performed for vitreous haemorrhage (65%). The 10-year survival in all PDR patients was 76% (95% CI: 63 to 85%) with the mean time to death for all deceased patients being 5.4 \ub1 3.6 years. On multivariable analysis, only age was found to have a significant association with the survival of patients with PDR. Conclusions: During the 10 year follow up SVL was uncommon, but MVL occurred in almost one-fifth of the eyes. Approximately 1 in 4 eyes required vitrectomy, highlighting its significance in patient management
Quantum state of two trapped Bose-Einstein condensates with a Josephson coupling
We consider the precise quantum state of two trapped, coupled Bose Einstein
condensates in the two-mode approximation. We seek a representation of the
state in terms of a Wigner-like distribution on the two-mode Bloch sphere. The
problem is solved using a self-consistent rotation of the unknown state to the
south pole of the sphere. The two-mode Hamiltonian is projected onto the
harmonic oscillator phase plane, where it can be solved by standard techniques.
Our results show how the number of atoms in each trap and the squeezing in the
number difference depend on the physical parameters. Considering negative
scattering lengths, we show that there is a regime of squeezing in the relative
phase of the condensates which occurs for weaker interactions than the
superposition states found by Cirac et al% (quant-ph/9706034, 13 June 1997).
The phase squeezing is also apparent in mildly asymmetric trap configurations.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figure
On strongly chordal graphs that are not leaf powers
A common task in phylogenetics is to find an evolutionary tree representing
proximity relationships between species. This motivates the notion of leaf
powers: a graph G = (V, E) is a leaf power if there exist a tree T on leafset V
and a threshold k such that uv is an edge if and only if the distance between u
and v in T is at most k. Characterizing leaf powers is a challenging open
problem, along with determining the complexity of their recognition. This is in
part due to the fact that few graphs are known to not be leaf powers, as such
graphs are difficult to construct. Recently, Nevries and Rosenke asked if leaf
powers could be characterized by strong chordality and a finite set of
forbidden subgraphs.
In this paper, we provide a negative answer to this question, by exhibiting
an infinite family \G of (minimal) strongly chordal graphs that are not leaf
powers. During the process, we establish a connection between leaf powers,
alternating cycles and quartet compatibility. We also show that deciding if a
chordal graph is \G-free is NP-complete, which may provide insight on the
complexity of the leaf power recognition problem
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